Figment's, a service dog, First visit to WDW- Trip Report

[Wishes Count]

Hello all!

I have decided to post this trip report in the making here on the DisABILITIES forum because we had found limited information on this site when it comes to Service animals at WDW.

Some of you may know that I am a CM at WDW, The views expressed in this trip report do not reflect those of the Walt Disney Company, but just our family's experience while visiting with my sister's service dog, Figment.

If you are wondering about the name, yes he is named after the Disney Character. All of the service dogs at the organization where Figment was trained have Disney names, so my sister had to choose a Disney name for him!

We are WDW veterans and I am a CM, so we have experienced it all here at WDW. I myself spent a year in Guest Relations so I understand the operational side of the services offered for guests with disabilities. We have also toured using the previous GAC and now DAS. However this is our first trip at WDW with Figment. (My mother and sister did attend a conference at DL this year with Figment and other trainers, so that experience has prepared them a little. Figment has also been to Washington DC and even got to visit the White House!)

This will be an ongoing report as my family arrives on August 9th until the 16th. Hopefully this information is helpful to those who look for experiences in the future.

So the star of the show is Figment!

Figment is a Goldendoodle who although is still "In Training" already is able to help my sister immensely. He completed most of his training in CO, and now is completing his training with my family in PA. (It's important for the dog to create a bond with their person, thus the reason for this) In PA and FL service animals in training have the same rights as fully trained service animals, but laws very by state.

This is my lovely Family,

My parents Bill and Kelly are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary on this trip! To the right of my parents is Kennedy, Figment is her service dog. Kennedy is 19 and has a seizure disorder. Figment is often able to alert her before she has a seizure allowing her to get to a safe place. My sister's seizures have only started in the past 2 years so we are still working to get them under control and this is her first time at WDW since the start of her issues. On the far right is Karlie, who is 15.

And Me! Author of this trip report

This has been an interesting adventure so far in trying to plan a new touring style with Figment. I am very organized and a big planner and thought I knew it all when it came to visiting WDW. This is a whole new experience for us and hopefully someone out there will enjoy the information and learn from our experiences (and probably a few mistakes) along the way! Hopefully I can also get some information to report about my family's travel on the airplane from PA FL to share as well

 

[Wishes Count]

I had done some research on what would need to be done to let the hotel know we would be traveling with a service animal. We will be staying at Pop Century on this trip.

When I made the reservations, we were not aware at the time that Figment would be joining us. Once we knew that he would be with my sister at the time of the trip I called the reservation number to see if the reservation needed to be modified in any way. The woman on the phone said that nothing needed to be done and that Disney follows all ADA guidelines etc. I was sure that it needed to be marked on the reservation but she insisted we could just show up.

I did not think that was the correct answer so I asked around to some friends who worked in resorts here at WDW, and discovered that I was correct and that it should be marked on the reservation. So yes, we could just show up and Disney would not turn us away or even say anything but as a courtesy it is nice to let them know ahead of time. One reason I recieved for this is that upon your check out the room needs to have a VIP cleaning service done to it, instead of the regular check-out. Letting them know your travel dates ahead of time is a great help to the Housekeeping team. Additionally it alerts the Housekeeping team to the fact that there is a service animal in the room, instead of just a guest who tried to sneak a pet in.

So I called back, got a different person who indicated he would mark it on the reservation. This past week I contacted Pop Century and spoke to someone who looked up the reservation and reassured me that it was marked. I also asked some questions about the service animal at the resort. There are marked relief areas at the parks, but I was unsure for the resort. He put me on hold and returned and said the area was on the lake side of the property. I am not sure if there are specific spots or just the general area is fine, but we will find out when we arrive!

 

[dragonfly57005]

Keep us posted! I can't wait to learn from Figment's experience!

 

[ttintagel]

What a handsome fellow Figment is!

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the trip (and pre-trip) report.
There are quite a few individual posts about Service Dogs, but no real trip reports.

Your sister is very lucky that Figment is able to alert her - the trainers can teach the dog what to do if a person has a seizure, but not all dogs are able to detect them ahead of time. It's just not a skill that all dogs can develop.

I'll be anxious to hear how things go.

 

[yoopermom]

How wonderful of you to post this, thank you!

And on a sidenote, my DS who is about to head back for his sophomore year of college just found out that a good friend of his (who lives in the dorms) will be bringing back a "leader dog in training" for the school year. I begged for a "trip report" to fined out how a yellow lab will do at college !

Terri

 

[gilesmt]

There is a lot more that can be done about the resort hotel and disabilities. I had asked before my last report, and when I said people on this board did not seem to understand and disney definately did not, I seemed to be creamed for it.
Well we went, it was not bad but we did have many problems. So when we got back I wrote my many complaints, the only real response I got back was from hotel accommodations, I got a call from a Stacy who was head of disabilities at the all resort hotels. She gave me her number but it is to late for you now.

My ability is I see with my hands,hearing and guide dog.when I asked for a room to accommodate, they told me at first no such thing. Then when I called back they told me they would give me a room where lights flashed when alarms when off, I said oh great for a blind person I won't hear it or see it. When I asked for a none barrier room and explained that I wanted, no complex path, no out in left field room, no room with fences, bushes or trees in front of the path to the door.

What I got was the room at the very end of the building, not close to anything, that had bushes, fences, and obstructed paths. I just sucked it up, 19 trips to Disney and not once have they giving me my request, not to say I wanted an upgrade, or special, but at least that they tried would be nice. You know a room near the lobby, or bus stop, or close to food court. No I always seem to get the room that needs me to cross a bridge 1/2 a mile away from the lobby and food court, and walk another 1/2 to the only elevator and then walk back to the other end of building to find my room.

Anyway, because of so much confusing about unanswered questions this time my dog stayed him and it was more important to get a room with no barriers, and believe me if the room with no barrier is the very last room I won't complain, but it never is.

Well this lady Stacy told me all kinds of things I wished I had known, like writing to the people who assigned rooms, and if they didn't listen then to call her the next day and she would see everything was fixed. Like yes it is very important to say you have a service dog, because they do have special rooms they a sign them to, so that people who ask for a non allergy room will never get assigned that room, and they have many many non barrier rooms in every catagory and all of them are rooms dogs can go in. She also said, to narrow you choice down to your three main concerns and not to list to many since the rooms and the as singers look for just a few things that usually go together, like blind, guide dog, barriers, so when you start to ask for a close room next to a lobby, or food court or whatever, that may throw you I to a room you don't really want. She said as I said, the room that may be best, with no barriers for me, is the room the farthest away, which is okay if I can walk out lobby, turn right and walk 1/2 mile and I to the door and unlock it. That maybe the blind, guide dog, no barrier room, but since some times thinking I am helping I wrote, a room central to everything, and especially lobby. Her information really helped me figure out, and from now on I will call her to ask what I should ask for before I ask for a room, because each hotel is different and each unique so what you ask for from one may not be the same at another hotel, it depends on size, location, value, moderate or deluxe or club.

Hope this helps someone else.

 

[SueM in MN]

The issue people could not understand was what was meant by a 'no barriers room'.

That could have many meanings, but the one that most people think of is a room with no stairs and a roll in shower. Since that might not be at all what the person means, t's important to specify what that means to the person using the term and ask for those things.
Otherwise, what is assigned will be whatever fits the definition of 'no barriers' that the room assigner thinks of.

 

[Pooh's Pals]

Subbing

 

[Wishes Count]

I wasn't present for the traveling portion of the trip, but Figment did very well on the airplane. Kennedy was permitted to sit in the bulkhead seating at no additional cost with the dog (The airline charges a premium for these seats) However my Mom did not want her to sit alone so she needed to pay extra for the seat next to her in the bulkhead.

She said the only issue was when they went through security. The TSA agent made Kennedy remove the vest from the dog, which we think is not permitted. Kennedy then walked through the detector and then called for Figment to come through. His collar set off the detector. The agent wanted her to remove the collar and she told him absolutely not, as that would be the only thing to grab onto should he get startled and try to run. He was very good in the terminal and just sat under the seats, not too many people noticed him until they got up to board.

They met me for lunch at Burger 21 which is near the Mall at Millenia and Figment was excited to see me. Although I think he could just smell my roommates dog on me.

We checked into Pop with no issues, was told the service animal was notated on both reservations so he could be in either room with no issues.

Our plan that evening was to go to the Hoop De Doo Revue, which is a dinner show at Fort Wilderness. Because of the nature of this show and from the stress of traveling we decided that we would let my roommates watch Figment while we went to dinner. Looking back we probably could have taken him and there wouldn't have been an issue.

My roomates, Derek and Jess have a American Bulldog/Austrailian Shepard mix named Zero. He is very loveable and thinks he is a much smaller dog than he really is. Zero is very good with other dogs and my roommate insisted that everything would be fine. We brought Figment over and Derek was ready with Zero on a leash just incase. Right away they both were very excited to see each other.

When you take Figment's vest off he becomes this big goofy goober. He wants to play and jump around and give you kisses. Derek texted me later in the evening and said after about an hour Zero had passed out and that Figment had worn him out. He sent me this picture of him sitting with our other roommate and his girlfriend just relaxing on the couch.

Kennedy was very nervous and anxious about leaving Figment with Derek and Jess. I kept assuring her that Derek would not allow anything to happen and if they started getting too rough he would put zero in the bedroom.

While we were at Hoop, Kennedy had a minor seizure, she sort of just loses consciousness for a few moments and then it is like nothing happened. It happened while we were waiting to go inside the show but she was fine afterwards. Figment was really excited to see us when we picked him up.

 

[disney david]

I wasn't present for the traveling portion of the trip, but Figment did very well on the airplane. Kennedy was permitted to sit in the bulkhead seating at no additional cost with the dog (The airline charges a premium for these seats) However my Mom did not want her to sit alone so she needed to pay extra for the seat next to her in the bulkhead.

She said the only issue was when they went through security. The TSA agent made Kennedy remove the vest from the dog, which we think is not permitted. Kennedy then walked through the detector and then called for Figment to come through. His collar set off the detector. The agent wanted her to remove the collar and she told him absolutely not, as that would be the only thing to grab onto should he get startled and try to run. He was very good in the terminal and just sat under the seats, not too many people noticed him until they got up to board.

They met me for lunch at Burger 21 which is near the Mall at Millenia and Figment was excited to see me. Although I think he could just smell my roommates dog on me.

We checked into Pop with no issues, was told the service animal was notated on both reservations so he could be in either room with no issues.

Our plan that evening was to go to the Hoop De Doo Revue, which is a dinner show at Fort Wilderness. Because of the nature of this show and from the stress of traveling we decided that we would let my roommates watch Figment while we went to dinner. Looking back we probably could have taken him and there wouldn't have been an issue.

My roomates, Derek and Jess have a American Bulldog/Austrailian Shepard mix named Zero. He is very loveable and thinks he is a much smaller dog than he really is. Zero is very good with other dogs and my roommate insisted that everything would be fine. We brought Figment over and Derek was ready with Zero on a leash just incase. Right away they both were very excited to see each other.

When you take Figment's vest off he becomes this big goofy goober. He wants to play and jump around and give you kisses. Derek texted me later in the evening and said after about an hour Zero had passed out and that Figment had worn him out. He sent me this picture of him sitting with our other roommate and his girlfriend just relaxing on the couch.

Kennedy was very nervous and anxious about leaving Figment with Derek and Jess. I kept assuring her that Derek would not allow anything to happen and if they started getting too rough he would put zero in the bedroom.

While we were at Hoop, Kennedy had a minor seizure, she sort of just loses consciousness for a few moments and then it is like nothing happened. It happened while we were waiting to go inside the show but she was fine afterwards. Figment was really excited to see us when we picked him up.

The dog equipment ie vest collar and other stuff is subject to further inspection. But the best shouldn't be removed I post the link if they want they can file a complaint if they have names and times. It says your not supposed to come in contact with your dog while screening only with Leah so them asking them to remove collar would violate that policy. They should of hand inspected the collar and used the wand and tested it for explosives I hope mco is better. Not sure where they left from I read you go to JFK before and they can be crazy I live going out of hpn it a smaller airport and Tsa is most of the time a lot more calm their and it just one check point.

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/passengers-service-dogs

 

[Wishes Count]

On Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the evening. We had gotten Kennedy a wheelchair and I wanted her to ride in it to prevent problems and not over exert herself. But she insisted she was fine.

Figment wears shoes during the day, to protect his feet from the hot pavement. Other people seem to think this is the strangest thing and many don't make the connection that the pavement is hot. I must have heard the word "shoes" a million times on this trip. Sometimes people will take pictures. The shoes we have are made by RuffWear. They fit him very well and he doesn't seem to mind wearing them. When you first put them on he prances around like a pony for the first few steps but then he is fine.


At AK we had a FP to ride Everest, Primeval Whirl, and the Safari. At AK the only attraction service animals are permitted on are the Safari and Triceratop Spin. They are also permitted in the shows and walking trails.

We had sometime before our FP for Everest, so we decided to walk on the Maharajah Jungle Trek. This is the trail that has bats, exotic birds and tigers. Figment is very interested in birds and likes to chase them. Before you enter where the birds are there is a path on the left. You can follow that path and bypass the birds.

At Rides where the service animal cannot ride they have a portable crate they can place the dog in. We have decided we will use rider switch as we do not want to leave him alone. There is not a cast member watching the dog, but it is not in an area either where other guests would be near him. Several CM's at different attractions suggested this option to us explaining we could then all ride together. We declined because Figment is still in training, but I think you would be able to leave an older dog no problem.

We rode Everest with Rider Switch, While my parents were riding Figment started alerting Kennedy, She finally sat in the wheelchair and we went inside the gift store within 7 minutes she had a minor seizure of just losing consciousness. He alerts by sort of nudging you really hard with his nose on the back of your legs, almost like he is trying to wipe his nose on you. We don't have a signal though to tell him we understand so he would do it to several people in the party each time. He does not always alert her though, and we don't exactly have it down to a science of how much time we had. Sometimes it is 7-8 minutes, once it was 15 on this trip.

 

[nadira36]

joining in. We don't have a service dog, but have considered getting one. I'm interested to hear more about your trip.

 

[ladyjubilee]

My son has epilepsy. (He had surgery last week so our high hopes are that he HAD epilepsy.) So I'm going to be nosey.

What do you do when the dog signals? You mention the signals weren't consistent, is that because the dog hasn't finished training or due to seizures types?

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

A few points:

-- You do not have to notify a hotel (or restaurant, store, etc.) in advance about your service dog.

-- A hotel is not allowed to have only certain rooms for people with service dogs; that would be discrimination. A service dog is allowed in any hotel room and allergies are not a valid (legal) excuse to disallow a service dog anywhere. (And in pet-friendly hotels, it is illegal to force someone with a service dog to stay in a pets-allowed room instead of a no-pets-allowed room; service dogs are not pets.)

-- The TSA agent was wrong to make the handler remove any of the dog's gear; they are not allowed to force gear removal. If the handler and dog go through the metal detector at the same time and it beeps, both handler and dog must be given additional screening (pat-downs and explosives detection swabs). If the handler and dog go through the detector separately (either dog first or dog second) and only the dog sets it off, only the dog needs additional screening. If you don't use a mobility or guide harness (not worth the hassle to remove) and don't want the dog to alarm, remove the vest, collar, and leash and use a slip-lead (collar and leash in one) with no metal in it for going through the detector. Since I use a mobility harness, I only remove the pack that attaches to it (otherwise, they would have to hand-search the bag and all items) and have my service dog go through the detector ahead of me, since all the metal will set it off. My dog is off-leash trained, so it isn't an issue for me to wrap her leash around the mobility handle and send her through with verbal commands.

-- Figment is cute! Love the name, too!

-- Ask the dog's trainer if there is a command for him to stop alerting. Hopefully, as he gets more used to and bonded with the handler, his alerts will get better (alert to more seizures).

-- I wouldn't personally use the ride crates and would do rider swap just like I have in the past, but others may feel differently. I don't worry about my service dog, but about others around my service dog.

 

[SueM in MN]

A few points:

-- You do not have to notify a hotel (or restaurant, store, etc.) in advance about your service dog.

-- A hotel is not allowed to have only certain rooms for people with service dogs; that would be discrimination. A service dog is allowed in any hotel room and allergies are not a valid (legal) excuse to disallow a service dog anywhere. (And in pet-friendly hotels, it is illegal to force someone with a service dog to stay in a pets-allowed room instead of a no-pets-allowed room; service dogs are not pets.)

-- The TSA agent was wrong to make the handler remove any of the dog's gear; they are not allowed to force gear removal. If the handler and dog go through the metal detector at the same time and it beeps, both handler and dog must be given additional screening (pat-downs and explosives detection swabs). If the handler and dog go through the detector separately (either dog first or dog second) and only the dog sets it off, only the dog needs additional screening. If you don't use a mobility or guide harness (not worth the hassle to remove) and don't want the dog to alarm, remove the vest, collar, and leash and use a slip-lead (collar and leash in one) with no metal in it for going through the detector. Since I use a mobility harness, I only remove the pack that attaches to it (otherwise, they would have to hand-search the bag and all items) and have my service dog go through the detector ahead of me, since all the metal will set it off. My dog is off-leash trained, so it isn't an issue for me to wrap her leash around the mobility handle and send her through with verbal commands.

Here is a link to the TSA website that essentially says the same things as Ms_Butterfly posted.
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/passengers-service-dogs

-- Figment is cute! Love the name, too!

-- Ask the dog's trainer if there is a command for him to stop alerting. Hopefully, as he gets more used to and bonded with the handler, his alerts will get better (alert to more seizures).

Yes - there should be some command that tells the dog to stop alerting.
He should be always be alerting Kennedy first, and then others if she is not able to get to a safe place/position and give him the command to stop.

From discussion with our DD's dog's trainer, seizures are difficult to train a dog to. Some have the skill to detect them and some don't. With some other body changes, like high or low blood sugar, there are smells that they can use to simulate the condition to train the dog with (ketones).
No one is quite sure how a dog detects seizures, so there is no way to simulate one and it's not possible to just make one happen.

-- I wouldn't personally use the ride crates and would do rider swap just like I have in the past, but others may feel differently. I don't worry about my service dog, but about others around my service dog.

it is a nice option for those who do feel comfortable with using them.
It would be nice yo have more information about them than us currently posted, so I hope people who have chosen to use them will share their experiences.

 

[Echo queen]

Enjoying your trip review. Thanks

 

[amzking]

While my parents were riding Figment started alerting Kennedy, She finally sat in the wheelchair and we went inside the gift store within 7 minutes she had a minor seizure of just losing consciousness. He alerts by sort of nudging you really hard with his nose on the back of your legs, almost like he is trying to wipe his nose on you. We don't have a signal though to tell him we understand so he would do it to several people in the party each time. He does not always alert her though, and we don't exactly have it down to a science of how much time we had. Sometimes it is 7-8 minutes, once it was 15 on this trip.

And now the tears have started. I cannot imagine my child randomly losing consciousness throughout the day. What a blessing that dog is, it is a miracle how they know a seizure is coming. Thank you for this excellent trip report. I hope they find a solution to your sisters seizure disorder soon.

 

[Wishes Count]

Later that afternoon we rode Safaris. This is one of the few rides that service animals are able to ride on. You will be directed to the Wheelchair dock and board the wheelchair truck.

I tried to take a photo but it is a little hard to see. Figment had to lie down next to the seat where the Wheelchair would normally be parked for those who could not transfer. He then had to be secured to the vehicle with a leash that the attraction provided. The Leash was looped through the tie downs for wheelchairs and then clipped onto his collar. The attendant attached the leash to the vehicle but We had to attach the leash to Figment.

Figment was confused on this ride as he had to remain lying on the floor the entire time. This ride is very bumpy so I think he kept trying to sit up to look because he didn't understand why this car ride was so bumpy. After the Safaris we decided to head back to the hotel to eat lunch and relax before heading to epcot.

We didn't arrive at Epcot until after 6pm so we didn't have much time to ride many attractions. We decided to start with Living with the land boat ride. We had to take the elevator because we didn't think Figment could take the escalator and he still pulls down the stairs. On the ride Figment just hopped into the boat and laid on the floor, I think he enjoyed the A/C and the chance to relax.

About 1 minute after I took the above photo I was looking at the lettuce display shapped like a Mickey head on the side of the boat when I heard a loud 'THUNK'. Kennedy was unconcious and had fallen forward and whacked her forehead on the seat infront of us. After a few seconds she was back and confused as to why her head hurt. I told her what had happend and I told her. She asked me "Are my ears still on?" I asked her which ones because she had the Minnie ear headband on to which she looked confused and said "I have more than one set?"

After our boat ride we decided on The seas with Nemo. At this attraction there is a moving walkway. They slowed it down for Figment and he and Kennedy had their own clamshell. But when we exited the CM was not prepared for Figment and had not slowed the belt, Figment did okay but tried to walk the wrong way on the belt . He did this at every attraction with a moving walkway. I think this was because the CM is walking in that direction.

We looked around the seas for a while and Figment enjoyed the fish in the tank. We had a time on our DAS card for Soarin so we headed over there next. At Soarin, we had to do rider swap. I was hungry and felt like this would take forever to do the rider swap so I agreed to just wait outside with Figment while the rest of the group rode. So we sat at the benches where FP used to be. So I sit down and tell Figment to go under the bench, well there must have been some popcorn or something under there cause he started eating something and then licking the floor. He loves Popcorn, and there is plenty of it on the ground at Disney I didn't catch him in time to tell him to leave it so he ate it.

No one asked about the dog and few people noticed he was under the bench, a few children who were too short to ride and were waiting with a parent were running around and noticed him and would wave at him or point him out to their parents.

After the Ride we went to eat. Kennedy wanted to eat at Electric Umbrella because there aren't many Gluten Free option at Epcot. So she ate there and then we went to Norway to eat at the bakery. It was at this time that we discovered that there was no EMH like we had previously thought and that we wouldn't have time to ride Test Track before leaving. But we were headed back to Epcot on another day so it was okay.

The next day was Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

 

[Wishes Count]

My son has epilepsy. (He had surgery last week so our high hopes are that he HAD epilepsy.) So I'm going to be nosey.

What do you do when the dog signals? You mention the signals weren't consistent, is that because the dog hasn't finished training or due to seizures types?

Not all dogs can alert. Its not really something you can teach them, just hope that they can do it? I think it is not consistent because he cannot always sense when it will happen. He doesn't always seem to alert to smaller seizures and he cannot sense ones that are triggered by emotional responses or the like. For example, if there is a loud noise and it startles her she sometimes will have a seizure, she doesn't know that is going to happen and he can't sense it either. Or sometimes she sneezes and will have one.

When he does signal we try to get to safe place, At home this means lying down, in public it might mean getting back to the car or finding somewhere quiet or less busy. Kennedy doesn't like to have seizures where there lots of on-lookers and who can blame her? Several times we just had her sit in the wheelchair and we'd find a corner somewhere, maybe at a table at an outdoor seating area or just off to the side so we wouldn't be in the way.

Also it freaks people out. And understandably, if you came upon a family where someone was on the ground having a seziure or was slumped over in a wheelchair you would be concerned. Many CMs offered us medical assistance and many guests offered their help.